Kickin' It On Route 66 ~ Texas 5 - 1
Title: Kickin’ It On Route 66
State: Texas ~ Chapter 5-1
author: cunningdeb
Pairing: adam/kris, OMCs
Summary: The Allen-Lamberts take a road trip along Historic Route 66
Disclaimer: I don’t own Adam or Kris. This story is fiction. Other major characters are fictional; the places they visit in this story are real.
Dedicated to adamluvr36_fic ~ just because ♥
A new state = new adventures + one hot reunion ;) … and more food.
Time for a Allen-Lambert universe mini series. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old. Mrs. Willowby comes along too! Get ready for Americana and nostalgia.
Overview map of The Mother Road ~ http://www.historic66.com/description/map.html
Retrace the trip ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/45756.html#cutid1
Masterlist of Allen-Lambert universe ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/21722.html#cutid1
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
ROAD TRIP DAY 28:
SHAMROCK, TEXAS
A few short hours ago they’d left Oklahoma City, saying a tearful goodbye to Kim and Neil and full of anticipation for the upcoming reunion in Amarillo. Adam called before they left the hotel, getting one more chance to say farewell to his in-laws. Afterwards, he let Kris know that he and Lee were meeting with the advertising department to go over the images from yesterday’s shoot and as soon as he knew what time he could get a flight, he’d call back.
After breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, the Allen-Lamberts checked out and picked up Winnie for the next stretch of the Mother Road. Kris missed his co-pilot and drafted a trainee in the form of Hannah, having her help him keep an eye out for road signs. A noticeable change came over the landscape as they headed west. The fertile greenery of the state gave way to semi-arid prairies and rolling hills. It was near this side of the state that the Dust Bowl had hit hard in the 1920s, though more so further north in Oklahoma’s panhandle.
It was a 227 mile journey from Oklahoma City to Amarillo, a trip of just over four hours. They could easily make their next overnight stop by mid afternoon. There were few places worth stopping at on the way as many communities along the old highway were shells of their former glory or ghost towns occupied by critters and overgrown vegetation. They drove through the Oklahoma communities of Hydro, Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City before making their first stop in Shamrock, Texas along the border.
Kris held tight to his son’s hand as his boy dragged him around the building for the third time. The U-Drop Inn was impressive as a stunning piece of art deco architecture from the 1930s, the tower inspired by the image of a nail stuck in the dirt. The structure originally housed a gas station in the front and a café in the back. It had recently been lovingly restored and still attracted visitors for its striking style. For most kids, however, it was a real version of Ramone’s body shop from Pixar’s ‘Cars’. When Adam and Kris researched the trip, they didn’t make a conscious effort to hit all the ‘Cars’ hot spots but it seemed to be happening on its own accord. Their kids loved it and if it kept them excited, then it was good thing.
“Daddy, I want to see that corner again.”
“Joshie, I think ….” Saved by the phone. “Adam! … yeah? … That wonderful! … uh-huh, we’ll be there when you arrive … oh, sure that sounds like a good idea. Okay, we’ll be waiting. Love you. Bye.”
“Daddy, I wanted to talk!”
“Papa’s catching a late afternoon flight and will be with us for dinner. I think we should get going.”
“Yay, Papa’s coming back!”
After fetching Hannah and Mrs. Willowby from the gift shop, they got back in Winnie and continued their trek.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
GROOM, TEXAS
Texas may have been the largest US state but Route 66 cut a path across its narrowest part, the Panhandle. Ironically, the states’ smallest area was larger than nine other states.
More ghost towns lined the highway. The RV stopped at a historic church for a photo opportunity in front of the Lela School House. It was kind of eerie standing in the deserted town and as soon as they were satisfied they had a good picture, they were gone.
They passed through the town of McLean, its main street a frozen snapshot of the past. There was an unusual museum here, the Devil’s Rope Museum which featured the history of barbed wire, but it was closed. Instead, they continued on towards Groom.
Now on a bypassed stretch of the current Route, but nearby, was the infamous Jericho Gap. During the heydays of the Mother Road, this 18 mile stretch consisted of muddy black soil. Whenever it rained, travelers got stuck and had to be towed out and taken to the nearest town … namely Groom. Service stations and locals made good money ‘helping’ with the stranded cars and rumors had flown around that they used to purposely soak the dirt to keep the lucrative ‘business’ going.
“Daddy, that water tower’s going to fall over!”
Kris immediately pulled over as Joshie and Mrs. Willowby rushed to the window. Sure enough, a water tower with the name Britten on it was tipping over. They watched, holding their breath … and nothing happened.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
“Careful laddie.”
The family watched Kris make his way into the field, staying on the ‘safe’ side of the impending disaster. He stopped at one point and seemed to be looking at something but the others still at the RV couldn’t see what. When he returned, he was smiling.
“No worries … it’s not going anywhere.”
“But Papa, it’s tipping.”
“It’s leaning Sweetpea, like it’s suppose to. There used to be a truck stop, garage and restaurant beside it and the tower was built like that to attract attention. Funny, the one thing that looked like it was going to crash was the only piece to survive.”
“Well, it certainly attracted our attention,” Mrs. Willowby replied, not sounding impressed.
“Daddy, can we take pictures, you know like people do with the Leaning Tower of Pisa?” Hannah asked.
Kris looked at his watch. Adam wouldn’t be in the air yet so they still had a few hours to kill. He got out the camera and took the cheesy tourist pictures.
Another roadside attraction popped up on the west side of the town, an attraction they spotted while nearly twenty miles away. It started the size of a charm on a necklace and ended up soaring 190 feet above them. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was built by a local man to counter the abundant pornography billboards along Interstate 40 to Amarillo. Once more Kris pulled Winnie off the highway and followed the narrow road into a field. This time there were no pictures, no circling, no silliness, just a moment of peace to say thanks for a safe trip thus far and the safe return of husband, father and friend.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
AMARILLO, TEXAS, DAY 1
Stopping one more time at another Conway for you-know-what to add to the collection, they crossed into the city of Amarillo. They hadn’t stopped for a proper lunch anywhere between the two cities; they’d stuffed themselves at the buffet of their previous hotel, and munched along the way on Danishes and muffins they’d bought the night before at Ingrid’s.
Amarillo, Texas sits nearly in the middle of the country, equal number of miles to East and West coasts, and has been welcoming visitors since the 16th century when Francisco Coronado crossed the plains 80 years before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. The city’s motto is ‘Step into the Real Texas’, a perfect blend of ranching traditions from the past and modern innovation for the future.
For the first time on their trip they were staying in a motel and what a motel it was! Instead of settling Winnie into a campground on the outskirts of the city, their motel had a parking lot north of the building for larger rigs like buses, transport trucks and RVs. When the reservations were made, they’d requested the free limo service. As soon as they had their luggage together, Kris made a call and within minutes their ride arrived ~ a stretch Cadillac limo complete with bull horns mounted on the hood.
The Big Texan Motel was the most fantastic collection of colors, styles, gaudiness and Las Vegas mini-flare they’d ever seen. The motel itself resembled an Old West main street of the 1800s, a strip of colors to make it appear like different business pressed together ~ oranges and yellows and reds and greens. A giant neon cowboy stood guard as well as a giant cowboy boot and oversized bull called Big Moo that could have been related to Paul Bunyan’s blue ox, Babe. The pool was shaped like the state and the concrete area around it painted like the state flag. Connected to it was the Big Texan Restaurant, considered one of the Top 10 Steak Restaurants in the country; they’d be hitting it up for dinner when Adam arrived. There was even a Horse Hotel on the property.
They’d reserved two rooms beside each other. The ‘gals’ got the suite complete with sitting room and bedroom with two queen-sized beds. The ‘boys’ had the double occupancy room next door. Since you had to step outside to go from one room to the other, the men decided they’d make the trip each time. Kris and Joshie entered their room, dropped the bags inside the door, and took up their guard posts at the railing, looking out for their missing sheep.
Kris looked at his cell; Adam’s flight should be landing within the next ten minutes and the airport was only five minutes from the motel. If he began running up the street now, he could make it before Adam reached the ….
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“I wish Papa was here already.”
“Me too Joshie.”
Mrs. Willowby stuck her head outside the door.
“Is he here yet?”
“Not yet.”
She disappeared back inside and Hannah came out to join them.
“When’s he going to get here?” she sighed
As if on cue, Kris’ cell rang.
“Hey Baby, I’m back.”
“Adam!”
“Papa! I wanna talk to Papa!”
“Joshie, calm down.”
Adam laughed on the other end. “Tell him I’ll be there soon. I just gotta pick up the car and then I’m on my way.”
“We’ll be waiting. Bye.”
“Daddy!”
“Joshie Bear, I said calm down. He’ll be here soon.”
“How soon?”
“Soon enough,” Mrs. Willowby declared. “Inside you two and freshen up.” She looked at Kris and his slightly disheveled appearance. “You might want to freshen up too laddie.”
Ten minutes later, all four were on the balcony, looking over the parking lot. Each time a car pulled in, their feet started dancing until the driver got out and it wasn’t him. Gradually, they’d started making their way over to the staircase that led to the parking lot. Finally, a stationwagon came into view and parked below them. Everyone leaned over and when a dark head belonging to Adam poked out, they bolted down the stairs.
“Papa!”
“Papa!”
Joshie was down first and scooped into the air. Hannah was on her brother’s heels and nearly bowled Adam over, catching him in a fierce hug. The man laughed, hugging and kissing back. Mrs. Willowby and Kris were down the stairs quickly as well but held back, letting the kids reconnect first.
“Wow, all this after two days? Maybe I should go away longer next time.”
“No!” everyone yelled out.
Eventually, the kids stepped aside. Mrs. Willowby was next, giving him a warm hug and asking how his trip was.
“Did you stop by the house? Was everything in order?”
“Yes I did … everything was good.”
Mrs. Willowby smiled then noticed Adam was looking past her; she didn’t have to look to know who had his full attention.
“Joshua … Hannah … let’s head to the restaurant and get a table. Your Daddy and Papa need a few minutes alone.”
“Why?”
“Not your concern young man. Vamoose.” The trio started walking away when Mrs. Willowby turned. “Take your time laddies.”
Without a word, Kris held out his hand. Adam grabbed his bag and they headed to their room. The door open … the carry-on hit the floor … and the mattress creaked.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
“EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK ….”
“What’s going on?” Adam shouted
“I don’t know!” Kris shouted back. He looked around the massive dining room and pointed. “There they are!”
“EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK ….”
The two men took their seats, their family not noticing at first cause they were chanting too. Set up on a stage was a table with two guys and a girl sitting there, shoveling food into their mouths while a clock counted down behind them. Kris tapped Mrs. Willowby on the shoulder and asked what was happening. She passed him a sheet of paper and returned to her fist pumping.
Adam and Kris put their heads together and read all about the Big Texan Free 72 oz. Steak Challenge.
Back when the restaurant first opened, cowboys from local ranches used to come in for dinner on their days off. One cowboy boasted he was hungry enough to ‘eat the whole, darned cow’. Bob Lee, the owner, started feeding him one ounce steaks until he could eat no more. The customer stopped after 4 ½ ounces and from that moment on, Bob issued the challenge that anyone who could complete the meal in one hour got it free. Since then, thousands had tried and few have succeeded in polishing off the hunk of top sirloin the size of a fanny pack, a baked potato, salad, dinner roll and shrimp cocktail.
Fun facts: a wrestler in the 1960s ate two complete dinners in an hour ~ the oldest to eat the steak was a 69-yr-old grandmother ~ the youngest was an 11-yr-old boy ~ the unofficial record holder is a Bengal tiger who ate only the steak in less than 90 seconds ~ the official record holder did it in 8 minutes, 52 seconds.
The rules were also straight forward.
If you don’t swallow everything you lose. You get to cut and eat one piece to make sure it’s prepared to your liking before the clock starts. Once you start, you can’t stand up, leave the table, or have someone else touch or help you consume it in any way. You don’t have to eat the fat or grizzle. If you become ill, you lose (bucket provided). You must pay for dinner upfront; will be refunded should you finish. Leftovers may be taken home.
Kris looked up at the contestants. One guy raised his hands in defeat, the other two kept going with 27 minutes left on the clock.
Adam looked at the spread of appetizers on the table before him ~ breaded mushrooms, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas, and potato skins.
“Looks like an eating contest is going on here too,” he commented.
Kris popped a mushroom into his mouth. “We didn’t have lunch.”
“Why not?”
“Daddy wanted to get here as fast as he could,” Hannah clarified.
Kris blushed and Adam kissed his cheek.
“Well then, let’s dig in.”
As they ate the finger foods, a wandering trio came by and serenaded them with guitar, fiddle and song. At the same time, the server came by and took the rest of their order. Meanwhile, the eating challenge was down to one, the second contestant having dropped out as well.
Hannah was looking at Kris strangely.
“Something wrong?”
“Your buttons are screwed up.”
Both Adam and Kris looked at his shirt. Sure enough, each button was one button hole off. Quickly, Kris started correcting it.
“Funny none of us noticed that earlier. Imagine walking around the entire day like this.”
Mrs. Willowby cleared her throat, not saying a word.
In the end, nobody won the 72oz Steak Challenge but the Allen-Lambert’s certainly cleaned up every last crumb of their dinners: Adam’s prime rib topped with sautéed onions and blue cheese, Texas rice, garden salad, roll & butter; Kris’ prime rib topped with sautéed onions, steak fries, cowboy beans, roll & butter; Hannah’s buffalo burger and garden salad; Joshie’s regular cheeseburger and steak fries; and Mrs. Willowby’s charbroiled salmon, coleslaw, beef steak tomatoes & onions, roll and butter.
Rather than go out, they headed back to their rooms for some quiet family time. Joshie had mussed his shirt yet again and while the others gathered in the girls’ suite, Adam took their boy back to their room to change.
“Look Papa,” the boy exclaimed, pointing to the mess, sheets and pillows everywhere. “Someone’s been sleeping in your bed.”
Adam felt the heat rising to his cheeks.
“Um … yeah … guess so … maybe … where’s your shirt?”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
♥ = worth a look
U-Drop Inn (actual building) ~ http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-texas/Shamrock%20U-Drop%20Inn-500.jpg
‘Cars’ representation of U-Drop Inn ~ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Cars_Film_Ramones.jpg
Britten Water Tower ~ http://www.takemytrip.com/images/66_448_DSC00575.jpg
Hold up the Tower ~ http://casitaclub.com/forums/uploads/post-4600-1206371591.jpg
The Cross ~ http://dusttracksblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110613-105508.jpg?w=350
Amarillo, Texas ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1zEYgGPrg&feature=related
♥♥ The Big Texan Motel exterior ~ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/3136631502_6c3359e483.jpg
Motel sitting room ~ http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/3a/ae/bd/nice.jpg
Motel bedroom ~ https://img-s.foursquare.com/derived_pix/Y0WYKKCJDF3YFPRAWYUJDI0WNIOQSK5KNLXQKE4HSN3WV5MS_300x300.jpg
♥♥ The Big Texan Motel & Steak Ranch Restaurant ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WYFeGEuYhw
Man vs Food Steak Challenge ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qx8CL_jW-4
♥♥ The Steak Dinner ~ http://www.bigtexan.com/images/72ozSteaklarger.jpg
State: Texas ~ Chapter 5-1
author: cunningdeb
Pairing: adam/kris, OMCs
Summary: The Allen-Lamberts take a road trip along Historic Route 66
Disclaimer: I don’t own Adam or Kris. This story is fiction. Other major characters are fictional; the places they visit in this story are real.
Dedicated to adamluvr36_fic ~ just because ♥
A new state = new adventures + one hot reunion ;) … and more food.
Time for a Allen-Lambert universe mini series. Hannah is 12 years old, Josh is 7 years old. Mrs. Willowby comes along too! Get ready for Americana and nostalgia.
Overview map of The Mother Road ~ http://www.historic66.com/description/map.html
Retrace the trip ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/45756.html#cutid1
Masterlist of Allen-Lambert universe ~ http://cunningdeb.livejournal.com/21722.html#cutid1
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
ROAD TRIP DAY 28:
SHAMROCK, TEXAS
A few short hours ago they’d left Oklahoma City, saying a tearful goodbye to Kim and Neil and full of anticipation for the upcoming reunion in Amarillo. Adam called before they left the hotel, getting one more chance to say farewell to his in-laws. Afterwards, he let Kris know that he and Lee were meeting with the advertising department to go over the images from yesterday’s shoot and as soon as he knew what time he could get a flight, he’d call back.
After breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, the Allen-Lamberts checked out and picked up Winnie for the next stretch of the Mother Road. Kris missed his co-pilot and drafted a trainee in the form of Hannah, having her help him keep an eye out for road signs. A noticeable change came over the landscape as they headed west. The fertile greenery of the state gave way to semi-arid prairies and rolling hills. It was near this side of the state that the Dust Bowl had hit hard in the 1920s, though more so further north in Oklahoma’s panhandle.
It was a 227 mile journey from Oklahoma City to Amarillo, a trip of just over four hours. They could easily make their next overnight stop by mid afternoon. There were few places worth stopping at on the way as many communities along the old highway were shells of their former glory or ghost towns occupied by critters and overgrown vegetation. They drove through the Oklahoma communities of Hydro, Weatherford, Clinton and Elk City before making their first stop in Shamrock, Texas along the border.
Kris held tight to his son’s hand as his boy dragged him around the building for the third time. The U-Drop Inn was impressive as a stunning piece of art deco architecture from the 1930s, the tower inspired by the image of a nail stuck in the dirt. The structure originally housed a gas station in the front and a café in the back. It had recently been lovingly restored and still attracted visitors for its striking style. For most kids, however, it was a real version of Ramone’s body shop from Pixar’s ‘Cars’. When Adam and Kris researched the trip, they didn’t make a conscious effort to hit all the ‘Cars’ hot spots but it seemed to be happening on its own accord. Their kids loved it and if it kept them excited, then it was good thing.
“Daddy, I want to see that corner again.”
“Joshie, I think ….” Saved by the phone. “Adam! … yeah? … That wonderful! … uh-huh, we’ll be there when you arrive … oh, sure that sounds like a good idea. Okay, we’ll be waiting. Love you. Bye.”
“Daddy, I wanted to talk!”
“Papa’s catching a late afternoon flight and will be with us for dinner. I think we should get going.”
“Yay, Papa’s coming back!”
After fetching Hannah and Mrs. Willowby from the gift shop, they got back in Winnie and continued their trek.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
GROOM, TEXAS
Texas may have been the largest US state but Route 66 cut a path across its narrowest part, the Panhandle. Ironically, the states’ smallest area was larger than nine other states.
More ghost towns lined the highway. The RV stopped at a historic church for a photo opportunity in front of the Lela School House. It was kind of eerie standing in the deserted town and as soon as they were satisfied they had a good picture, they were gone.
They passed through the town of McLean, its main street a frozen snapshot of the past. There was an unusual museum here, the Devil’s Rope Museum which featured the history of barbed wire, but it was closed. Instead, they continued on towards Groom.
Now on a bypassed stretch of the current Route, but nearby, was the infamous Jericho Gap. During the heydays of the Mother Road, this 18 mile stretch consisted of muddy black soil. Whenever it rained, travelers got stuck and had to be towed out and taken to the nearest town … namely Groom. Service stations and locals made good money ‘helping’ with the stranded cars and rumors had flown around that they used to purposely soak the dirt to keep the lucrative ‘business’ going.
“Daddy, that water tower’s going to fall over!”
Kris immediately pulled over as Joshie and Mrs. Willowby rushed to the window. Sure enough, a water tower with the name Britten on it was tipping over. They watched, holding their breath … and nothing happened.
“Stay here,” he ordered.
“Careful laddie.”
The family watched Kris make his way into the field, staying on the ‘safe’ side of the impending disaster. He stopped at one point and seemed to be looking at something but the others still at the RV couldn’t see what. When he returned, he was smiling.
“No worries … it’s not going anywhere.”
“But Papa, it’s tipping.”
“It’s leaning Sweetpea, like it’s suppose to. There used to be a truck stop, garage and restaurant beside it and the tower was built like that to attract attention. Funny, the one thing that looked like it was going to crash was the only piece to survive.”
“Well, it certainly attracted our attention,” Mrs. Willowby replied, not sounding impressed.
“Daddy, can we take pictures, you know like people do with the Leaning Tower of Pisa?” Hannah asked.
Kris looked at his watch. Adam wouldn’t be in the air yet so they still had a few hours to kill. He got out the camera and took the cheesy tourist pictures.
Another roadside attraction popped up on the west side of the town, an attraction they spotted while nearly twenty miles away. It started the size of a charm on a necklace and ended up soaring 190 feet above them. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ was built by a local man to counter the abundant pornography billboards along Interstate 40 to Amarillo. Once more Kris pulled Winnie off the highway and followed the narrow road into a field. This time there were no pictures, no circling, no silliness, just a moment of peace to say thanks for a safe trip thus far and the safe return of husband, father and friend.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
AMARILLO, TEXAS, DAY 1
Stopping one more time at another Conway for you-know-what to add to the collection, they crossed into the city of Amarillo. They hadn’t stopped for a proper lunch anywhere between the two cities; they’d stuffed themselves at the buffet of their previous hotel, and munched along the way on Danishes and muffins they’d bought the night before at Ingrid’s.
Amarillo, Texas sits nearly in the middle of the country, equal number of miles to East and West coasts, and has been welcoming visitors since the 16th century when Francisco Coronado crossed the plains 80 years before the pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. The city’s motto is ‘Step into the Real Texas’, a perfect blend of ranching traditions from the past and modern innovation for the future.
For the first time on their trip they were staying in a motel and what a motel it was! Instead of settling Winnie into a campground on the outskirts of the city, their motel had a parking lot north of the building for larger rigs like buses, transport trucks and RVs. When the reservations were made, they’d requested the free limo service. As soon as they had their luggage together, Kris made a call and within minutes their ride arrived ~ a stretch Cadillac limo complete with bull horns mounted on the hood.
The Big Texan Motel was the most fantastic collection of colors, styles, gaudiness and Las Vegas mini-flare they’d ever seen. The motel itself resembled an Old West main street of the 1800s, a strip of colors to make it appear like different business pressed together ~ oranges and yellows and reds and greens. A giant neon cowboy stood guard as well as a giant cowboy boot and oversized bull called Big Moo that could have been related to Paul Bunyan’s blue ox, Babe. The pool was shaped like the state and the concrete area around it painted like the state flag. Connected to it was the Big Texan Restaurant, considered one of the Top 10 Steak Restaurants in the country; they’d be hitting it up for dinner when Adam arrived. There was even a Horse Hotel on the property.
They’d reserved two rooms beside each other. The ‘gals’ got the suite complete with sitting room and bedroom with two queen-sized beds. The ‘boys’ had the double occupancy room next door. Since you had to step outside to go from one room to the other, the men decided they’d make the trip each time. Kris and Joshie entered their room, dropped the bags inside the door, and took up their guard posts at the railing, looking out for their missing sheep.
Kris looked at his cell; Adam’s flight should be landing within the next ten minutes and the airport was only five minutes from the motel. If he began running up the street now, he could make it before Adam reached the ….
“Daddy?”
“Yeah?”
“I wish Papa was here already.”
“Me too Joshie.”
Mrs. Willowby stuck her head outside the door.
“Is he here yet?”
“Not yet.”
She disappeared back inside and Hannah came out to join them.
“When’s he going to get here?” she sighed
As if on cue, Kris’ cell rang.
“Hey Baby, I’m back.”
“Adam!”
“Papa! I wanna talk to Papa!”
“Joshie, calm down.”
Adam laughed on the other end. “Tell him I’ll be there soon. I just gotta pick up the car and then I’m on my way.”
“We’ll be waiting. Bye.”
“Daddy!”
“Joshie Bear, I said calm down. He’ll be here soon.”
“How soon?”
“Soon enough,” Mrs. Willowby declared. “Inside you two and freshen up.” She looked at Kris and his slightly disheveled appearance. “You might want to freshen up too laddie.”
Ten minutes later, all four were on the balcony, looking over the parking lot. Each time a car pulled in, their feet started dancing until the driver got out and it wasn’t him. Gradually, they’d started making their way over to the staircase that led to the parking lot. Finally, a stationwagon came into view and parked below them. Everyone leaned over and when a dark head belonging to Adam poked out, they bolted down the stairs.
“Papa!”
“Papa!”
Joshie was down first and scooped into the air. Hannah was on her brother’s heels and nearly bowled Adam over, catching him in a fierce hug. The man laughed, hugging and kissing back. Mrs. Willowby and Kris were down the stairs quickly as well but held back, letting the kids reconnect first.
“Wow, all this after two days? Maybe I should go away longer next time.”
“No!” everyone yelled out.
Eventually, the kids stepped aside. Mrs. Willowby was next, giving him a warm hug and asking how his trip was.
“Did you stop by the house? Was everything in order?”
“Yes I did … everything was good.”
Mrs. Willowby smiled then noticed Adam was looking past her; she didn’t have to look to know who had his full attention.
“Joshua … Hannah … let’s head to the restaurant and get a table. Your Daddy and Papa need a few minutes alone.”
“Why?”
“Not your concern young man. Vamoose.” The trio started walking away when Mrs. Willowby turned. “Take your time laddies.”
Without a word, Kris held out his hand. Adam grabbed his bag and they headed to their room. The door open … the carry-on hit the floor … and the mattress creaked.
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
“EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK ….”
“What’s going on?” Adam shouted
“I don’t know!” Kris shouted back. He looked around the massive dining room and pointed. “There they are!”
“EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK … EAT STEAK ….”
The two men took their seats, their family not noticing at first cause they were chanting too. Set up on a stage was a table with two guys and a girl sitting there, shoveling food into their mouths while a clock counted down behind them. Kris tapped Mrs. Willowby on the shoulder and asked what was happening. She passed him a sheet of paper and returned to her fist pumping.
Adam and Kris put their heads together and read all about the Big Texan Free 72 oz. Steak Challenge.
Back when the restaurant first opened, cowboys from local ranches used to come in for dinner on their days off. One cowboy boasted he was hungry enough to ‘eat the whole, darned cow’. Bob Lee, the owner, started feeding him one ounce steaks until he could eat no more. The customer stopped after 4 ½ ounces and from that moment on, Bob issued the challenge that anyone who could complete the meal in one hour got it free. Since then, thousands had tried and few have succeeded in polishing off the hunk of top sirloin the size of a fanny pack, a baked potato, salad, dinner roll and shrimp cocktail.
Fun facts: a wrestler in the 1960s ate two complete dinners in an hour ~ the oldest to eat the steak was a 69-yr-old grandmother ~ the youngest was an 11-yr-old boy ~ the unofficial record holder is a Bengal tiger who ate only the steak in less than 90 seconds ~ the official record holder did it in 8 minutes, 52 seconds.
The rules were also straight forward.
If you don’t swallow everything you lose. You get to cut and eat one piece to make sure it’s prepared to your liking before the clock starts. Once you start, you can’t stand up, leave the table, or have someone else touch or help you consume it in any way. You don’t have to eat the fat or grizzle. If you become ill, you lose (bucket provided). You must pay for dinner upfront; will be refunded should you finish. Leftovers may be taken home.
Kris looked up at the contestants. One guy raised his hands in defeat, the other two kept going with 27 minutes left on the clock.
Adam looked at the spread of appetizers on the table before him ~ breaded mushrooms, mozzarella sticks, quesadillas, and potato skins.
“Looks like an eating contest is going on here too,” he commented.
Kris popped a mushroom into his mouth. “We didn’t have lunch.”
“Why not?”
“Daddy wanted to get here as fast as he could,” Hannah clarified.
Kris blushed and Adam kissed his cheek.
“Well then, let’s dig in.”
As they ate the finger foods, a wandering trio came by and serenaded them with guitar, fiddle and song. At the same time, the server came by and took the rest of their order. Meanwhile, the eating challenge was down to one, the second contestant having dropped out as well.
Hannah was looking at Kris strangely.
“Something wrong?”
“Your buttons are screwed up.”
Both Adam and Kris looked at his shirt. Sure enough, each button was one button hole off. Quickly, Kris started correcting it.
“Funny none of us noticed that earlier. Imagine walking around the entire day like this.”
Mrs. Willowby cleared her throat, not saying a word.
In the end, nobody won the 72oz Steak Challenge but the Allen-Lambert’s certainly cleaned up every last crumb of their dinners: Adam’s prime rib topped with sautéed onions and blue cheese, Texas rice, garden salad, roll & butter; Kris’ prime rib topped with sautéed onions, steak fries, cowboy beans, roll & butter; Hannah’s buffalo burger and garden salad; Joshie’s regular cheeseburger and steak fries; and Mrs. Willowby’s charbroiled salmon, coleslaw, beef steak tomatoes & onions, roll and butter.
Rather than go out, they headed back to their rooms for some quiet family time. Joshie had mussed his shirt yet again and while the others gathered in the girls’ suite, Adam took their boy back to their room to change.
“Look Papa,” the boy exclaimed, pointing to the mess, sheets and pillows everywhere. “Someone’s been sleeping in your bed.”
Adam felt the heat rising to his cheeks.
“Um … yeah … guess so … maybe … where’s your shirt?”
~~~~ ☼ ~~~~
♥ = worth a look
U-Drop Inn (actual building) ~ http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-texas/Shamrock%20U-Drop%20Inn-500.jpg
‘Cars’ representation of U-Drop Inn ~ http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f3/Cars_Film_Ramones.jpg
Britten Water Tower ~ http://www.takemytrip.com/images/66_448_DSC00575.jpg
Hold up the Tower ~ http://casitaclub.com/forums/uploads/post-4600-1206371591.jpg
The Cross ~ http://dusttracksblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/20110613-105508.jpg?w=350
Amarillo, Texas ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE1zEYgGPrg&feature=related
♥♥ The Big Texan Motel exterior ~ http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/3136631502_6c3359e483.jpg
Motel sitting room ~ http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/3a/ae/bd/nice.jpg
Motel bedroom ~ https://img-s.foursquare.com/derived_pix/Y0WYKKCJDF3YFPRAWYUJDI0WNIOQSK5KNLXQKE4HSN3WV5MS_300x300.jpg
♥♥ The Big Texan Motel & Steak Ranch Restaurant ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WYFeGEuYhw
Man vs Food Steak Challenge ~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Qx8CL_jW-4
♥♥ The Steak Dinner ~ http://www.bigtexan.com/images/72ozSteaklarger.jpg
